A scene of scorched devastation – an aerial image shows destroyed houses after a bushfire at Yellow Rock in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney. Australians were warned to prepare for the worst forest fires in a decade. Photograph: James Brickwood/EPA

A picture cropped to show the bare essentials as Danish Greenpeace supporters demonstrate in front of the Russian embassy in Copenhagen. Thirty activists, including a Danish woman, are being held in Murmansk, Russia, after a protest on a Russian drilling rig. Photograph: Jens Dresling/AP

An eerily atmospheric portrait of, from left to right, Father Luke, Father Gordon and Father Matthew in Ampleforth, North Yorkshire. Ampleforth Abbey and College is the UK's largest Benedictine community, and is set in one of North Yorkshire's Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Photograph: Lynne Cameron/PA

An amusing mix of incongruous elements. Maria and Michael Steudel pose for their wedding photo among historically dressed soldiers in front of the Battle of the Nations monument in Leipzig, Germany. Make sure you get the car in the shot! Photograph: Jan Woitas/dpa/Corbis

A combination picture shows the sky changing over the dome of the Capitol building in Washington DC. The political crisis and 16-day government shutdown has slowed the economy and undermined the country's international standing. Photograph: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

Tension in the air. Afghan police arrive after a car bomb detonated at dusk outside an ISAF civilian personnel compound in Kabul, Afghanistan, which houses contractors from various countries, European diplomatic personnel and United Nations employees. Photograph: Anja Niedringhaus/AP